Partners
by Zaidie
Summary: On the job your partner is all you have, but what happens when you don't have that? Alt scene for 401 Unwritten Rules. Jamie Whump.


Title: Partners

Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Bloods, or any of the characters.

Spoilers: 4x01 Unwritten Rules, 3x22 The Bitter End

A/N: Just a short what-if that popped into my head after watching the first episode of season 4. Basically just a Jamie whump. Unbetaed so all mistakes are mine. Some dialogue taken from 4x01 and 3x22.

* * *

Jamie slammed the patrol car door behind him, trying not to think about what he was doing. Janko's words still ringing in his ears, he didn't want to do this either, but this was the job they had been given.

"Hey Ricky. Hey!" He heard himself yelling as he moved to intercept the three out-of-uniform cops.

"This doesn't concern you Reagan," Salazar cut in, "I have unfinished business with this guy." The smell of alcohol hit Jamie full force as the men came to a halt in from of him.

_This is not good Regan. _He fought back the urge to glance back at the patrol car, at his partner still inside, hoping she was reading this situation. Hoping she was calling in that 10-85. "You don't want to do this. Reed needs to pay for your partner but this is not the way to do it." Jamie tried to keep his voice steady. Calm.

"You standing up for this guy? Huh?" Salazar demanded.

"Hurting Reed won't bring your partner back and you'll go to jail, which means Reed takes out two cops. It's not worth it Ricky." Jamie reasoned, firming his voice as he continued, "Go home. "

"And what if I don't?" Salazar asked his voice and stance full of tension and warning.

_Why are you protecting this guy Reagan? _Jamie pushed down the thought and firmed his own stance, "You guys leave right now and this never happened. " He promised. "You want Reed, then you got to go through me." _This is the job, you don't have to like it, you just have to do it, _he told himself, trying not to let his rising fear show. It was beyond clear the three officers were not thinking clearly. _Where was his partner?_

"I don't want to do this Reagan," Salazar growled his voice low. "You of all people should understand, so just get out of the way."

"_It's okay Reagan, I told you.. told you this is the end." _Jamie swallowed hard blocking out the sound of Vinny's last words ringing in his head. _Me of all people. _Why _was_ he doing this? Protecting a cop killer, _I didn't take this job to take on other cops either. Especially not like this. _It would be easy, so easy, to just step aside and let them do it. It wasn't like Reed didn't deserve it. The smug bastard deserved a hell of lot worse than a beat down.

_But that doesn't make this right. _Jamie closed his eyes briefly against the conflicting feelings. He had been asked to do this job, he hadn't wanted it. No cop had. But the commissioner had asked. _Who was he kidding? They could both pretend it was as the commissioner had said, because Jamie was both a lawyer and a cop, because he understood. _But he knew. It wasn't the commissioner who had asked, despite how he had tried to separate their relationship, _I thought I was just another cop... _No it was his father who had asked him to take this detail. Because they both knew, knew just how easy it would be for some other cops to just look the other way. Let these grieving officers slip by. _Hell half of him just wanted to pretend he had never seen them. Let them get the revenge they deserved. _

_Dad asked you, because he trusted you._ The voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Joe cut in._ Trusted you to do the job, no matter how badly you want that cop-killing scum to pay for what he did. _

"Yeah, Ricky," he replied ignoring the waver in his own voice, "I do understand. But I can't-" he faltered for a moment, his mind dredging up images he fought to ignore. _Vinny. Joe. _He swallowed hard."This isn't what your partner would want, and you know that Ricky. I can't, I can't let you do this."

He saw it in Salazar's eyes, a split second before his fist swung out. Jamie tried to dodge, bringing his own hands up in defence, but the blow still landed hard, sending him spinning. One of Salazar's friends had moved up beside him, grabbing him while he was off balance.

Jamie lashed out with his foot, reacting on instinct and training, his brain still lost in the confusing swirl of thoughts. Images of his partner blood covered face, and that of Officer Collins' last moments blurring. _Reed doesn't deserve protection. No cop-killer does. _

The officer holding him swore as his foot connected, but didn't let go. He felt another blow land, this one to his stomach and he would have doubled over if not for the man who held him firmly.

"Hey!" Janko's voice rang out from behind, just as Jamie took another blow to the face, sending his head snapping to the side. This time the hands holding him let him fall, and he landed on the ground with a thud, unable to get his arms out in time to break his fall. A hot wave of pain flared as his head cracked against the concrete. His vision greyed out.

"Stay out of this Janko!" He heard Salazar warning her off, and he struggled to rise, despite the dizziness that stayed even as his vision partly cleared.

A heavy blow to the ribs, from what must have been a booted foot put Jamie back on the ground with a groan. "Just stay down Reagan," Salazar growled. Never one to back down when told – he _was _a Reagan after all – Jamie was already moving. Another kick and he felt something, a rib he foggily guessed, snap.

"Reagan!" he heard Janko yell, her voice sounded distant, but then suddenly she was at his side. He blinked at her dazed, realizing he must have blacked out for at least a moment.

"Where-?" he started to ask.

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes, and he knew where the three cops had gone. The sound of approaching sirens filled his ears even as the blackness filled his vision again.

0-0-0-0-0

Frank was still at the office. It was well past late, but with a cop-killer on the loose in his city it felt like a betrayal to the deceased officer's husband and daughter to even go home. He knew, perhaps too well, how it felt to know the man who had killed their loved one was walking free.

Still, there wasn't much he could do. Every cop in the city was eager to do whatever they could, and even that didn't seem to be enough for-

Frank shook his head at the thought. He couldn't blame Erin in this. She wasn't wrong. They didn't have the evidence for a trial. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

He sighed and moved to stand by the window, peering out into the lights of a New York night. Every on-the-job fatality always threw him back to the night they had lost Joe. He was so lost in the memory of that terrible night it took him a moment to realize he was no longer alone in the room.

He turned to find Garrett standing in just inside the door. "I thought I sent you home," he said, leaving off the question, as he knew he had.

"Frank," it was only one word, but the tone sent his gut churning, and his mind right back to the night that Joe's captain had called him to tell him the news. "Jamie's been taken to hospital."

_Jamie. His youngest. His boy, who at his request was supposed to be spending his night guarding a cop-killer.. How? Who? _The questions spun in his mid but he couldn't figure out how to voice them and Garrett was speaking again.

"He took a beating, but he's going to be okay." Garrett was quick to assure him. Then he hesitated. "Frank, his partner says it was Salazar and a couple other cops. They got to Reed and beat him pretty bad before the extra unis showed up. All three are in holding down at the 12th."

Frank sank down onto the edge of his desk, the closet solid surface he could find. _I sent him into this…_

0-0-0-0-0-0

Sergeant Renzulli stood to greet him as he entered the waiting room of the ER. "Commissioner," he greeted solemnly.

"How is he?" Frank asked.

"He's awake. Bit banged up, but he knows his name and where he is."

Frank nodded gratefully. Relieved even though Garrett had already assured him his youngest was going to be fine. Still, he knew he just wouldn't be able to let go of the worry fully until he set eyes on Jamie himself.

He turned to head to the cubicle Renzulli directed, but his eyes fell on the petite blonde officer sitting nervously a few chairs away, avoiding his gaze.

"Officer Janko," he spoke to her, pulling her name up from when Jamie had introduced them what had seemed to him to be ages ago, but what he knew had been just a few days. The night Officer Collins had been killed.

She looked up at him finally, her expression stricken. Then suddenly remembering her place she hopped to her feet stiffly. "Commissioner, I… am so sorry. I didn't… I…" she faltered off, still unable to meet his eyes.

He didn't know what to say to her. Inside his anger burned. Another one of his sons had been hurt. She was his partner. She should have backed him up. _She should have done more. _He pushed the thought away. There was no way to know now. Nothing he could say that would change things.

He forced a nod unable to come up with any words of comfort or recrimination and walked past her. He needed to see Jamie. _Everything else can wait. _

Jamie squinted at the screen with his right eye, his left was mostly swollen shut, and half listened as the doctor explained his chest x-ray. Fractured ribs she was saying. He didn't need X-rays to tell him that, the pain flaring up and down his chest every time he breathed was doing that just fine.

Movement at the curtain caught his attention and he looked over to meet the concerned gaze of his father. "Hey Dad," he greeted.

"Jamie," His father replied, and Jamie was more than a little stunned to hear the waver in his father's voice. _He didn't look that bad did he? _

The doctor seeming to sense she was in the way excused herself, saying she would be back shortly to wrap his chest and discharge him. There wasn't much else they could do for him, not even much pain management right now, as they didn't want to put him on anything strong with the concussion.

Frank had come to his side and Jamie tried to sit up a little more in the bed, failing to hide a grimace as the movement shifted his ribs. Frank dropped a gentle hand onto Jamie's shoulder, "I'm sorry son," he murmured quietly.

Jamie looked up at his dad, schooling his expression, "Hey, it's not your fault," he assured, his voice low, and hopefully not betraying his pain or exhaustion.

"I asked you to do this."

Jamie moved to shrug and then thought better of it. "This is on Reed… and Salazar, I guess," he muttered. He didn't want to blame the guy. _He's in pain. Grieving. Just like you were… are. _Again the images of Vinny's last moments played in his mind. He pushed them away to look back at his father concerned face. "I'm fine Dad, really."

"Cracked ribs and a concussion and you're fine? You been taking lessons from Danny?" His father asked.

Jamie smiled faintly, "must be a Reagan thing," he returned. His father smiled back weakly and ghosted a hand through his hair. Jamie closed his eyes and allowed himself for just a moment to pretend he was a kid again, and the line between what was right and wrong was clearly drawn.

- fin -


End file.
